Loryn Caulfield qualified as a therapeutic radiographer in South Africa in 1998 and has been working in Oxford since 2001.
She has worked her way up through the department and was appointed a consultant radiographer in gynaecological oncology in April 2015 – the first consultant radiographer post in the hospital trust.
Loryn provides leadership, support, advice and education for all members of the multi-disciplinary team caring for the patient, as well as encouraging the development of standards and guidelines.
Loryn is working towards setting up a radiographer led clinic for patients with cancer of the uterus. This will involve talking with patients about their treatment and consent, prescribing treatment, as well as following up with women after treatment.
She has undertaken a variety of postgraduate education modules in order to prepare for this service.
Recently, Loryn has also set up the new gynaecological brachytherapy service, working closely with all members of the multi-disciplinary team. She says, “This has been a great achievement and I’m proud to have been involved.”
To improve the experience of patients, Loryn is training to undertake the treatment herself and she will then teach other radiographers as they work in the brachytherapy service.
“The last year has just flown by,” she says. “I am learning so much. I feel like I am making a real difference to patients and that makes all the hard work worth it.”